Green Lantern (film) Trivia
Trivia about Green Lantern. *One of the Green Lanterns does not have the standard "ring" logo on his chest, but a bell. This is not a goof. It's Rot Lop Fan, an alien from a world that gets almost no sunlight, and his race is blind. As his race could not grasp the concept of the color green or a light-giving lantern, his symbol is an F-Sharp bell, which his species feels is a pleasing tone. *In early 1997, Warner Bros. approached cult filmmaker/comic book writer Kevin Smith to script the film. Smith turned down the offer, believing there were other suitable candidates to make a Green Lantern movie. *A Central City sign can be seen in the film. Central City was the home of Green Lantern's superhuman ally and close friend, the Flash. *Michael Clarke Duncan, who voices Kilowog, is a big fan of the character. *The comics vary on why the Green Lantern Abin Sur traveled in a spaceship when his ring could sustain him in space. The early comics say it was to prevent unnecessarily using the power on his ring; later versions presented him with a prophecy that his ring would fail him (which ironically came true at the moment his ship malfunctioned). In the movie, the spacecraft is an escape pod from a larger craft, meant as transport to evacuate a planet. *At one point Clark Kent/Superman was in the script (he had a cameo as one of the candidates considered to receive a power ring), but he was cut out because the filmmakers didn't want to depend on another superhero for a success. *Zack Snyder was approached to direct the film, but he turned down the offer due to his commitment on Watchmen (2009). He would later accept the offer to direct the Superman reboot Man of Steel (2013). *Kilowog derisively states that humans "think they're the center of the universe." The "Green Lantern" comic 'Blackest Night' revealed that Earth was in fact the birthplace of life throughout the whole universe, thus technically making Earth the center. *In addition to Sinestro, Kilowog and Tomar-Re, some of the Green Lanterns seen in the movie when Hal Jordan visits Oa are secondary characters seen in Green Lantern comics: **Hannu (planet Ovacron 6, sector 0002: like-a-stone humanoid alien) **Apros (planet 7Pi, sector 0003: orange like-a-plant alien) **Naut Le Koi (planet Aeros, sector 0012: humanoid alien fish) **Larvox (planet Sputan, sector 0017: one-eyed six-armed Lantern) **Norchavius (planet Gra'var, sector 0026: mottled green, black and orange alien) **Voz (planet Eciram, sector 0571: like-a-bear alien) **MedPhyll (planet J586, sector 0586: one-eyed humanoid plant) **Morro (planet Sarc, sector 0666: blue thin like-a-monster alien) **R'amey Holl (planet Papillox, sector 0700: humanoid alien butterfly) **Rot Lop Fan (planet Obsidian Deeps, sector 0911: big-headed alien) **Galius Zed (planet Noc'Sag, sector 1123: head giant with small extremities) **Booddikka (planet Bellatrix, sector 1414; pink skin alien female) **Chaselon (planet Barrio III, sector 1416: four-armed alien crystal) **Salaak (planet Slyggia, sector 1418: pinkish orange skin four-armed alien) **Lin Canar (planet Fluvian, sector 1582: aquatic alien plant) **Bzzd (planet Aplaton, sector 2261: alien insect) **Isamot Kol (planet Thanagar, sector 2682: reptilian humanoid) **M'Dahna (planet Zanner, sector 2751: one-eyed alien with tentacular arms) **Green Man (planet Uxor, sector 2626: amphibious alien) **Stel (planet Grenda, sector 3009: alien robot) **Amanita (planet Muscaria, sector 3100: giant alien fungus) **Penelops (planet Penelo, sector 3155: tentacular one-eyed alien) *The primary antagonist in the film was originally going to be the Legion, an alien robot possessing the collective minds of an alien insectoid race. This would have been in keeping with the original comics, where Abin Sur was mortally wounded in a battle with the Legion. However, the Legion was rejected in favour of the fear entity Parallax. *Carol mistakenly describes the power ring as magic. The Green Lantern comic originally started in 1940 as a fantasy series, with Alan Scott possessing a magic ring; later it changed to sci-fi and ushered in Hal Jordan and the extraterrestrial Green Lantern Corps. *Sam Worthington and Chris Pine were considered for the role of Hal Jordan. Brian Austin Green, a fan of the Green Lantern, campaigned actively to get the role. Ryan Gosling, Henry Cavill, David Boreanaz, Michael Fassbender, Shawn Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Justin Timberlake and Jared Leto also screen-tested for the role before finally, Ryan Reynolds was cast as Jordan. *This is Ryan Reynolds's third superhero film, after Blade: Trinity (Hannibal King) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Wade Wilson); it also marks a rare occasion where an actor has appeared in both a Marvel Comics and DC Comics film. Reynolds is also the second actor after Jon Favreau to portray two unrelated Marvel characters in the Marvel films. *Peter Sarsgaard's casting as Hector Hammond marks him the third actor from Kinsey to appear as a character in a Warner Brothers DC Comics movie. The previous ones were Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard in Batman Begins and Chris O'Donnell as Dick Grayson/Robin in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Sarsgaard's wife Maggie Gyllenhaal also appeared as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight. *Martin Campbell's favorite Green Lantern is Bzzd. He has also said that if he could become a Green Lantern, he would be Kilowog. *In 2007, actor-writer Corey Reynolds sent Warner Bros. a treatment, "Green Lantern: Birth of a Hero", with him writing and starring as John Stewart (his favorite superhero). Reynolds intended the film to be the first in a trilogy, and was going to introduce Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern Corps and the Justice League in the consecutive sequels. While his pitch was favorably received by the studio, it was abandoned in favor of a story about Hal Jordan. *Hal's sword construct was based on Martin Jordan's saber insignia from his flight jacket. *Keri Russell, Eva Green, Jennifer Garner and Diane Kruger were all considered to play Carol Ferris. *The Green Lantern uniform is portrayed in computer-generated imagery; this was a creative move by the filmmakers, who wanted the uniform not to be a real cloth outfit but an energy construct generated by the Lantern power ring. Notably, the comics originally started with Hal Jordan having an actual uniform, but later this was amended to the Green Lantern's uniform being a construct created by the rings. *According to Martin Campbell, the visual influences in Parallax's design were the 9/11 terrorist attacks - "The images of those massive dust clouds coming down the streets from the collapsing World Trade Center are directly associated with terror" and Indian festival pictures - "fantastic pictures of this writhing mass of living beings". *Geoff Johns tried to get the film produced in 2000, but the first question he was asked was whether the film could be made without the ring. This discouraged him so badly that he didn't make another attempt until The Dark Knight (2008) released. *In the comics, Carol Ferris became the Star Sapphire, originally an anti-heroine with similar abilities to the Green Lantern and revised later as soldier of the Star Sapphire Corps, an all-female force parallel to the Green Lantern Corps whose members carry on the violet light of love. In the film, Carol's flight call-sign is Sapphire, and the Star Sapphire logo can be seen on her helmet as she flies her jet. *Quentin Tarantino was considered to direct this film. *Peter Sarsgaard had a prosthetic applied on his head to portray Hector Hammond in the initial stages of his mutation. For scenes where Hammond's head actually enlarges it will be done in CGI. *It took 4-5 hours to apply the prosthetic make-up to Temuera Morrison to make him resemble Abin Sur. *Carol Ferris says Hal has the ability to overcome great fear. In the comics this was an amendment of the Green Lantern Corps: one originally had to be without fear in order to be a Lantern, but this was later changed to being able to overcome their fears. *The dialogue between Jordan and the Guardians on fear was taken verbatim from the "Green Lantern" comic 'Secret Origin'. *The first item Hal Jordan constructs during his first public appearance as Green Lantern is a giant Hot Wheels car and track. Just before he is chosen as Green Lantern he visits his nephew Jason, whose room has a Hot Wheels loop-the-loop track, from which Jordan launches a car as he exits the room. *In the scene where Hal is giving a poorly wrapped gift to his nephew Jason, the present is seen to be a transparent S World Starfighter model. This is a nod to Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet, which shares a similar design. *Not counting Filmation's The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1967) or the Hanna-Barbara Challenge of the SuperFriends (1978) show, this is only the second DC Comics feature where Hal Jordan has a major role. Previously, he only appeared in Green Lantern: First Flight (2009), and beyond that he made cameo appearances in an episode of Justice League (2001) and Duck Dodgers (2003) and had a supporting role in Justice League: The New Frontier (2008). *An early draft of the script contained a cameo by Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern (Jordan's predecessor, whose powers were magical rather than cosmic). Scott was going to be the United States President, and near the end would reveal his own past as a Green Lantern to Jordan, and give him his blessing. He was later revised to become an agent of the Checkmate agency (the Checkmate membership stayed true to the comics), who would approach and offer Jordan membership. Later drafts finally wrote him out of the film, and replaced him with Amanda Waller. *Eddie Murphy was considered to play John Stewart. *In Japan, the fear entity Parallax is renamed "Moso Dairinin" (Paranoia Agent). This refers to Paranoia Agent (2004), a critically acclaimed series about a stalker who is revealed to be an entity birthed from peoples' insecurity and anxiety. *To prepare for Carol Ferris's action scenes, Blake Lively underwent training on the The Matrix (1999)'s aerial stunt rigs, assisted by acrobats from the "Cirque du Soleil" and supervised by noted stunt coordinator Gary Powell. She described it as a great experience: "I'm 40 feet in the air, spiraling around. That's the best workout you can ever do because it's all core... You do that for ten minutes and you should see your body the next day! It's so exhilarating, so thrilling - and nauseating." *Martin Campbell based the film's action on knife fights in a phone booth: "quick and fast and dirty and big grand sweeping movements." *Hal Jordan's car is an orange 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T. Its license plate reads OSR145. *Hal Jordan's appearance as a Green Lantern pays tribute to his Green Lantern: First Flight (2009) look, where his suit was black with green armor (the white gloves which appear in the comics are omitted) and his eyes are blue (a disguise for the brown-eyed Jordan). *This is editor Stuart Baird's third superhero film, having previously worked on Superman (1978) and Superman II (2006) (the Zorro films are debatable). *A mannequin of Abin Sur was constructed for Amanda Waller's autopsy. *Peter Sarsgaard described Hector Hammond as an expression of what he keeps inside: "He's the kid that licked a battery, or went on the roof during a thunderstorm with a coat hanger." *Peter Sarsgaard loved his look as Hector Hammond so much he declared himself the "king of the prostheses!" *The "Green Lantern" comic has been greatly inspired by many cinematic figures across history (including the main cast of this film):Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris (1959) were based on Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, Thaal Sinestro was based on David Niven and Hector Hammond was based on Burl Ives. *Kevin Kline was considered for the role of Senator Hammond. *To prepare for his role as Hector Hammond, Peter Sarsgaard spent time with a biologist from Tulane University, who he described as "the most eccentric guy I could find." They both worked on preparing the lecture Hammond gives in the film. *Geoffrey Rush was initially unsure about voicing the alien Tomar-Re, but he had previously voiced avian roles (he had played an owl in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole and a pelican in Finding Nemo), and so when he saw an image of the birdlike Tomar-Re, he accepted the role. He had also noted that he had played various mentor roles before, so felt he would be more than comfortable with the role. *When Jordan fights Sinestro, one of his constructs is a chainsaw. This is a nod to the cancelled TV series pilot Justice League of America (1997), where Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Matthew Settle) created a chainsaw in a fight. *Comic book writer Geoff Johns, who has worked on the "Green Lantern" comic and made it a resounding success, was signed on as a creative consultant on the film. *Around June 2006, Robert Smigel had completed a script of the film, which was a comedy-adventure and was to star Jack Black as Jud Plato, an original Lantern whose bravery was defined by eating brains on a TV show. However, the studio dropped the script idea due to extremely negative feedback from fans. *Taika Waititi got the role of Thomas "Pieface" Kalmaku due to his Maori-Jewish heritage: "There was an opening in the film for someone who was not-white or not-black." *The scriptwriters drew inspiration from the Green Lantern comics 'Emerald Dawn' (which told the story of Hal Jordan's induction into the Green Lantern Corps and how he became its greatest member) and 'Secret Origin' (a modern retelling of Hal Jordan's early days as a Green Lantern), as well as the work of Denny O'Neil-Neal Adams and Dave Gibbons' work on the "Green Lantern" comic. *The filmmakers increased the budget by $9 million for additional VFX work. *Some wide shots of San Diego are used for Coast City. One of the shots shows Parallax over the San Diego Convention Center, which is the home of Comic-Con. *The Guardians of the Universe are inspired by David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister. *The design of Abin Sur and Sinestro's Green Lantern uniforms were incorporated into the DC comic 'Flashpoint'. *Abin Sur's ring is seen to bear the Green Lantern symbol on the outside as a crest. In the comics, this kind of ring represents a member of the Green Lantern Honor Guard (normal GL rings have the symbol inside the ring's crest). *Sinestro informs Abin Sur that Fentara is dead. This refers to Green Lantern Fentara Rrab, in the comics the father of Green Lantern Arisia Rrab. *The construct Tomar-Re demonstrates to Hal resembles a Möbius strip. In the "Green Lantern" comics of the Silver Age (1954-70), this was often used as a form of greeting between Green Lanterns. *In the Brightest day comic, Parallax is seen to have been transported to planet Ryut, chained it to a monolith bearing the Sinestro Corps symbol. In the film, Abin Sur imprisons Parallax to the planet Ryut, chained to a monolith bearing the Green Lantern Corps symbol. *The TV reporter covering Hal Jordan's F-35 crash for Channel 11 Coastal City is Melanie Hebert, an actual New Orleans news anchor. The TV byline gives her real name. *It took 14 attempts by the hairdressers to get the correct brunette shade for Blake Lively's hair. *Greg Berlanti signed on to co-write and direct the film in 2007, but he stepped down to instead direct This Is Where I Leave You (2014) and handed direction over to Martin Campbell. However, he remained on board as a writer and producer. *When Greg Berlanti was in charge, he hired comic book writers Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim to work on the script. *Hugo Weaving, Jackie Earle Haley and Geoffrey Rush were considered to for the role of Sinestro. Rush went on to voice the Green Lantern Tomar-Re. *Senator Hammond (played by Tim Robbins) is a character created specially for the movie; Hammond's parents are never mentioned in the comics. *The News Reporter (Melanie Hebert) explains that Martin Jordan died in 1993 during a flight crash; according to this film, Jordan was 8-years-old when the accident took place, and Hal Jordan is 26 years old. Ryan Reynolds, is playing a character 9 years younger than he is. *The climactic battle, where Hal Jordan sends Parallax into the sun, is a homage to the DC comic 'Final Night', where the sun was dying and a Parallax-possessed Jordan sacrificed himself to reignite it. *The film's primary antagonist, the fear entity Parallax, was chosen as part of a long-term strategy for successive films: Sinestro would be corrupted by Parallax and form his own Corps with Parallax as their power source, while other entities of emotional power (Ion, The Butcher, Ophidian, Adara, Proselyte, The Predator, Nekron and The Entity) and their Corps are planned to make an appearance. *In the comics Parallax is a living incarnation of fear. In the movie Parallax is a former fallen Guardian of the Universe (known in the comics by the name Krona) who took control of the yellow power of fear (reflecting his comic counterpart's decision to do the forbidden primarily for the sake of it.). *The yellow ring of fear was originally created in Qward, Oa's evil version in the antimatter universe. In the movie it's created by the Guardians as a secondary weapon in case the green ring of will should fail. *Originally Sinestro was to lead a squadron of Lanterns to Earth to fight off Parallax. This was changed to having Hal beat Parallax on his own to make him more heroic, and having the squadron rescue him at the last moment. *Hal Jordan has an epiphany that fear must not be absent but overcome. In the comics it was the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner who first realized this truism. *The comics differ over what caused Abin Sur's mortal crash-landing on Earth. The original story says his ship was rendered inoperative by yellow radiation that surrounded the Earth; later comics mention his ship was damaged from a battle with a Red Lantern. The film combines both versions (battle with a being of yellow radiation). *In the comics, Hal Jordan was possessed by the fear entity Parallax. In the film, this happens to Hector Hammond. *In the comics, Hector Hammond acquires his telepathic powers when he is exposed to a radioactive rock from Abin Sur's spacecraft, used as a motor for the ship. In the movie, Hammond gets his powers when he is infected by Parallax during Abin Sur's autopsy. *In the comics, Sinestro's eyes are yellow with black sclera (in the humans it's white), but in the movie his eyes are green with white sclera. However, in the post-credits scene, when he is possessed by Parallax, his eyes turn yellow, in homage to his appearance in the comics. *In his last fight, Hector Hammond is settled down in a mechanical wheelchair. In the comics, Hammond moves using his psychic abilities because they rendered him unable to walk. *Ryut was originally located in Sector 0666, being the home-world of Atrocitus, member of devilish Empire of Tears which was exterminated by the Guardians of the Universe (later Atrocitus created Red Lantern Corps as revenge to the Guardians of the Universe). In the movie, Ryut is located in the Lost Sector, and it's the planet where Abin Sur imprisoned Parallax. *In the movie, after Parallax's liberation there is a prologue set in 1993 where a 8-years-old Hal Jordan meet Carol Ferris and Hector Hammond just before to be witness of the flight crash where Jordan's father dies, but this scene was cut in its theatrical release. In the comics, Jordan met Ferris in his childhood, not Hammond. *In the film, Hector Hammond is possessed by Parallax, the entity of fear. In the Green Lantern comic 'Brightest Day', Hammond is possessed by Ophidian, the entity of avarice. Category:Green Lantern Category:Trivia